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-: UTR South-Eastern Border :-

The CNV Ashkaga burst out of hyperspace at the pre-planned meeting point. She was a Commonwealth Armored Cruiser- a step down from the fleet's Dreadnoughts, but a dangerous vessel at home in any wall of battle. Around her were a dozen assorted escort vessels- largely frigates, but a pair of destroyers and a lone Orphne-class light cruiser formed a rosette around the command ship.

The force was equivalent to a standard Commonwealth heavy patrol manipule.

"Greetings, Rear Admiral. I am honored to make your acquaintance. I am President Von Braun. With me is Sous-Admiral Mabcrough, in charge of this squadron, and Captain Nobunaga, master of the Ashkaga. The squadron is prepared to follow your lead.

It is a great pleasure to arrive in the Republic."

-: ENDTRANSCRIPT :-

The colonization effort was a slow compared to most of the other powers. With the constant threat of Black Alliance piracy, each convoy had to travel under heavy escort and be equipped with powerful ground-based weapons emplacements to ward off any attack. This convoy was lead by HMS New Chicago, a heavy cruiser, and had numerous escorts and carriers defending it.

It would not be a fun convoy to attack; there were plenty of other ones much more ill-equipped to strike at. This one was sent out to land and colonize a former world of the Kingdom, currently uninhabited by sentient life.

"Sir, we're nearing the location of the distress signal."

"Send in a pair of destroyers ahead of us, and we'll blast anything that isn't supposed to be here."

"Yes, sir."

---

Near Affront space

Two destroyers burst into realspace, and lit up the surronding space with targeting sensors. The Stuart Corp. and Aquarian Union ship hadn't finished docking yet.

"Full salvo on those two vessels."

The remainder of the task force burst into realspace, instantenously triggering off the launch of several thousand missiles from the fleets tubes.
The two ships targetted did not manage to get off more than a signal that they were underattack before the missiles impacted on the shields, or hull as the case may be.

Point defense weapons fired as best as the could

"You bastards, we just fought off Black alliance ship!"

The Aquarian ship opened up a jumgate between itself and the Cornerian taskforce

The corvette hurled a message probe into the jumpoint with the coordinates, their attackers, and the ships log, destination. Aquarius

Before the ship died, automated mechanisms opened a Highspeed Burst channel with Fleet Central, sending the log, and all mind updates back to Stuartian Space.

***

The Fast Response Fleet was readied and launched immediately from Aregath space.

Alyrium Denryle wrote:The corvette hurled a message probe into the jumpoint with the coordinates, their attackers, and the ships log, destination. Aquarius

"Sir, we caught a signal leaving the battlecruiser before it died, we quickly clamped down with jamming on it. And a message drone was destroyed leaving the corvette."

"Have us follow that damned Black Alliance cruiser."

The fleet jumped out of the system in pursuit of the cruiser.

Minutes later the Fast Response Fleet appeared in the system.
"Sir, we're picking up the remains of the Demonstration of Will, but no sign of the PRC ships."
Start scanning the vicinity, and launch fighter screen. Engage possible hostiles on sight."

Dahak wrote:Minutes later the Fast Response Fleet appeared in the system.
"Sir, we're picking up the remains of the Demonstration of Will, but no sign of the PRC ships."
Start scanning the vicinity, and launch fighter screen. Engage possible hostiles on sight."

The Liberator arrived too late to save the AU and Stuartian ships.

"Sir, Stuartian fast response fleet reverting to realspace ad point five one two."

"Open a channel. Find out what the hell is going on."

-: BRIDGECAM FILE F/214 CNV BEOWULF (PATROL MANIPULE KAPPA) :-

"Sous-Admiral! I am picking up heavy intereference from the target system. Residue matches a full fleet of capital ships."
"ETA on leaving hyper?"
"Five minutes, Sous-Admiral."
"Excellent."

- - - - -

"Sensors are picking up debris."
"Examine it carefully. Any ideas as to the source?"
"Some if it is clearly Aquarian. I am also picking up what looks like the remains of a Stuartian cruiser."
"Assessment?"
"Command, I am picking up heavy drive residue. these vessels were hit by a truly massive missle barrage."

"That intereference- Check it against logs of the Cornerian border incident, the one with the Egalite.
"Interference generally matches, Captain."
"Send a communique to Azegarte Occupation Command immediatly, Leftenant."

-: ENDFILE :-

"Captain, now there's a commonwealth squadron emerging from FTl in the area."

"What the hell?"

"Hail them."

"Channel open sir."

"Looks like we both missed the party, you guys want our sensor logs?"

FROM: Sous-Admiral Marcao (CNV Beowulf)
TO: KNS Liberatot
SUBJ: Incident

-::-

We appreciate the offer, send the data as soon as possible.
This looks a hell of a lot like a Cornerian strike. We've seen this sort of thing before along the Cornerian border, even lost a few vessels to it- they drop out of hyper and unload a ridiculous volley of missiles, using scouts and ansibles to coordinate.

Contact your own people. I can't speak for my government, but this looks like an act of war.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

Thirdfain wrote:FROM: Sous-Admiral Marcao (CNV Beowulf)
TO: KNS Liberatot
SUBJ: Incident

-::-

We appreciate the offer, send the data as soon as possible.
This looks a hell of a lot like a Cornerian strike. We've seen this sort of thing before along the Cornerian border, even lost a few vessels to it- they drop out of hyper and unload a ridiculous volley of missiles, using scouts and ansibles to coordinate.

Contact your own people. I can't speak for my government, but this looks like an act of war.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

"We're sending the data now, as well as a full report back to Krytos."



:::::::::Emperor's command bunker, Krytos::::::::::

"Emperor, we're reciveing a transmission from our diplomatic envoy sent to find the "Affront."

"What does it say?"

"Emergency, AU and Stuartian ships ambushed and destroyed by Cornerian fleet."

"Has KSN high command been informed?"

"They got it before we did."

"What do they recommend?"

"They want to place our fleet and defenses on full alert."

"Agreed, send the order. And contact the Grand Alliance heads of state. Tell them I want to meet here for a live conference to discuss this emergency."

Beowulf wrote:

Alyrium Denryle wrote:The corvette hurled a message probe into the jumpoint with the coordinates, their attackers, and the ships log, destination. Aquarius

"Sir, we caught a signal leaving the battlecruiser before it died, we quickly clamped down with jamming on it. And a message drone was destroyed leaving the corvette."

"Have us follow that damned Black Alliance cruiser."

The fleet jumped out of the system in pursuit of the cruiser.

"By the powers. I'm picking up a couple of dozen PRC vessels after us." The sensor operator said, it's psudeopods moving over the specialized control pads. "They're closing in but can't hit us while we're in transit."

"But they might find a way to drop us back into realspace." The Captain frowned. "And we've got a ways until the fleet tender gets to an intercept point."

"Oh, it gets better. They jammed the transmissions from our friends back there, from all observations. I'm not even picking up escape pod beacons." The odd creature manning the comms replied. "They slaughtered the entire crews." The Black Alliance didn't engage in wholesale slaughter often. Enslavement, yes, capture, yes.. But simply wiping out that many lives was done only when there was little other choice.

"...Helm, divert all availiable power to engines. Communications, pulse messages to the Tender at maximum power, cut through any jamming they try. We're more than a max for any single PRC ship, but that's an entire task force on our ass. Get your Soulkeeper's downloaded into the next signal pulse if you believe in such bullshit, and prepare for a bumpy ride."

A signal rippled out through Infraspace to the Affront vessel. "Love to continue this bit of sport, but we've got alot of very well armed people behind us both. We've gonna break Galactic South... Do have fun, and try not to let them catch up." The cruiser began a banking turn, picking up speed as additional power was pumped into it's drive fields.

-: ENCRYPTION LEVEL: SERAPHIC/9 :-

FROM: Senate of the Commonwealth (Desjardins)
TO: All Grand Alliance Members
SUBJ: Cornerian Ambush

-::-

The latest reports from the border indicate that elements of the Cornerian Navy murdered the crews of a vessel of the Stuart Corporation and the Aquarian Union, without reason. This coldblooded, senseless act must be brought before the galactic stage.

The Krytosian cruiser Liberator caught the entire act. We ask our Krytosian allies to send the tapes to all the major Galactic powers. This act of war must be well documented, and the Cornerian killers must be made to account for their actions.

We are asking for commitment of all the Grand Alliance members in punishing the Cornerian Republic. Upon confirmation by Alliance members, we will submit an ultimatum to the Repbulic, for reparations for their crimes. Should they fail to fulfill their ultimatum, we ask that the Grand Alliance declare war against the Cornerian Republic.

The Cornerians spit on honor. They spit on life. They must face the consequences of their actions.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

"Command, sensors, we've detected the BA cruiser breaking off pursuit of the Affront vessel."

"Helm. Follow that cruiser."

[VFP Surfrunner]

"Captain, the Black Alliance cruiser is breaking off thanks to the PRC pursuit."

"Excellent, stand us down for now prepare to greet them."

* * *

The Affront ship slowed it's head long race as it's course diverged from that of it's pursuer.

Beowulf wrote:"Command, sensors, we've detected the BA cruiser breaking off pursuit of the Affront vessel."

"Helm. Follow that cruiser."

"These guys don't give up. I wonder how far they're willing to chase." The Captain of the Nice Guy considered, still flying away at full throttle. The big ship was signifigantly faster against the low-speed distortion drives being used in pursuit, but they were persistant. And those very distortion drives made it difficult to attack while in transit.

"At least we have our options, hrm? Full throttle towards that system." The cruiser swung around, diving into a solar system and weaving through the gravitational fields with the agility of a pro.

SirNitram wrote:"These guys don't give up. I wonder how far they're willing to chase." The Captain of the Nice Guy considered, still flying away at full throttle. The big ship was signifigantly faster against the low-speed distortion drives being used in pursuit, but they were persistant. And those very distortion drives made it difficult to attack while in transit.

"At least we have our options, hrm? Full throttle towards that system." The cruiser swung around, diving into a solar system and weaving through the gravitational fields with the agility of a pro.

"Damn pirates! Follow them into that system. Lets see if we can pin them against the star. Send some destroyers ahead with fold drive."

"Sir? We have positively identified the cruiser as being one of the ones at the Black Alliance ambush a few months ago. CENTCOM has directed us to take it out by any means necessary."

Beowulf wrote:"Damn pirates! Follow them into that system. Lets see if we can pin them against the star. Send some destroyers ahead with fold drive."

"Sir? We have positively identified the cruiser as being one of the ones at the Black Alliance ambush a few months ago. CENTCOM has directed us to take it out by any means necessary."

"We're picking up Destroyers leaving the main group. Probably gonna fold and flank us." The sensors operator noted, as the big cruiser skimmed the surface of a gas giant's atmosphere, it's fields creating massive lightshows as matter was whipped off of the planet and into the wake of the superliminal craft.

The BA Cruiser, sadly, wasn't cooperating. It ventured no where near the star, instead almost taking pleasure in dancing between the gas giants of the outer system. It wasn't emitting anymore signals anywhere, probably aware that the taskforce was going to try and jam any signals.

*********

The Long Haul class vessels Can't Take It With You and I Saw It First were already enroute. Andrews wasn't terribly happy, though. When someone launches a force that big, you had to respond with force. And force was what the reply was: With dozens of Unrelentings, nearly a dozen Gangsters, and the one Psychopath that he retained command of, he could smash the assembled task force quickly.

"The easy part is over. The PRC has responded with an entire task force, which it is dancing around the system with." He announced across fleetcomm as they approached the system at the incredibly velocities only a Fleet Tender could acheive. "Now we must take enough of their ships intact to make this worth our while. We must be wary of their missiles.. They may be only a singular taskforce, but we cannot afford to take damage from their first strike that would leave us dallying here after we win the day."

SirNitram wrote:"We're picking up Destroyers leaving the main group. Probably gonna fold and flank us." The sensors operator noted, as the big cruiser skimmed the surface of a gas giant's atmosphere, it's fields creating massive lightshows as matter was whipped off of the planet and into the wake of the superliminal craft.

The BA Cruiser, sadly, wasn't cooperating. It ventured no where near the star, instead almost taking pleasure in dancing between the gas giants of the outer system. It wasn't emitting anymore signals anywhere, probably aware that the taskforce was going to try and jam any signals.

*********

The Long Haul class vessels Can't Take It With You and I Saw It First were already enroute. Andrews wasn't terribly happy, though. When someone launches a force that big, you had to respond with force. And force was what the reply was: With dozens of Unrelentings, nearly a dozen Gangsters, and the one Psychopath that he retained command of, he could smash the assembled task force quickly.

"The easy part is over. The PRC has responded with an entire task force, which it is dancing around the system with." He announced across fleetcomm as they approached the system at the incredibly velocities only a Fleet Tender could acheive. "Now we must take enough of their ships intact to make this worth our while. We must be wary of their missiles.. They may be only a singular taskforce, but we cannot afford to take damage from their first strike that would leave us dallying here after we win the day."

"Why are they just teasing us. Why aren't they trying to escape? They're up to something, and that something is probably a force big enough to smash my command into space dust without a sweat. Have the carriers launch a couple stealthed fighter drones at the same time all the ships launch a salvo of missiles at that damned cruiser. Then prepare the fleet for fold drive. We'll retreat, and use the drones to see what he does."

Beowulf wrote:"Why are they just teasing us. Why aren't they trying to escape? They're up to something, and that something is probably a force big enough to smash my command into space dust without a sweat. Have the carriers launch a couple stealthed fighter drones at the same time all the ships launch a salvo of missiles at that damned cruiser. Then prepare the fleet for fold drive. We'll retreat, and use the drones to see what he does."

(OOC: How tiresome that people always manage to guess exactly right when I go to the effort of making a trap.)

The Cruiser was still dancing through the failed attempts to corral it's progress, making huge, apparently artistic, sculptures of ejecta from the gas giant it raced around. When the missile volley came, however, the purpose of the massive sculptures of gas became clear. While PRC missiles were shielded against the odd particle of interstellar hydrogen, they were quickly overwhelmed when they tried to chase the big ship through it's charged and whipped up wake. The flashes of energy released were an impressive complement to the sculptures of the ship's wake, as it raced to meet with it's reinforcements.

As the PRC fleet folded out, however, the Cruiser simply was displaced aboard one of the Fleet Tenders, and the Black Alliance fleet left the system to plan another strike.

-: Message, hand delivered to the Black Alliance. By a fellow with NO connection to the Commonwealth's Agency whatsoever, I assure you. :-

Dear Lord Andrews,

The assistance your associates lent us in weapons smuggling around Aquarian space a year ago has not been forgotten. Your organization has proven to be effective. This being the case, we would be pleased to do business with you once more-this time, in an endeavor with greater risks and correspondingly greater rewards.

It may have come to your attention that war is about to break out between the Grand Alliance and the People's Republic of Corneria. My associates have a vested interest in this operation, and would like your assistance with a few small details of the aforementioned operation.

What I ask is simple: I would like to have as few pirate attacks as possible occur in the Azegart occupied territory. Conversely, I would like pirate attacks in Cornerian space, and against Cornerian shipping galaxywide, to increase drastically.

Of course, an operation of this magnitude would require a substantial resource expenditure of yourself. To compensate you for said assistance, we would give into your holding 1 trillion CPS Credits.

This in and of itself would probably not entice you, so I can also offer you this: One factory-new and unused Commonwealth Dreadnought of the Athena class. She would be fully operational, with all weapons fully loaded and with her bays fully stocked.


I hope you will take my offer into account. If this does not entice you, you know how to reach me with a counteroffer.

Sincerely,
Mister Joachim Smith

-::-

Agent Yumi Asakura, Message to the Triad Head wrote:The yards at Five Fangs have completed their production of a run of new vessels. Following traditional Kzin policy (dating from ancient pre-FTL space warfare), the ships were constructed as part of a complete Black Pride, or battlefleet. They had been in low-priority construction for several months, but production was rapidly concluded after we forwarded the intercepted communiques concerning the "Affront" first contacts to the Patriarch's intelligence agencies. (Regardless of this information coup, penetration of Cornerian and Terran space remains unsatisfactory. We were merely lucky and looking for specific information. Again I must defer to your omniscience)

The production completed is as follows:
1 Ripping Claw Class Battleship
4 Battlecruisers
6 Cruisers
16 Heavy Destroyers
121 Destroyers
8 Heavy Carriers
12 Fast Carriers
15 Escort Carriers

The production numbers are slightly different from the usual numbers, in that there are fewer light carriers and a slightly greater number of destroyers--in addition to a one extra battlecruiser and cruiser each. It is possible that this represents the leading edge of a doctrinal shift in favor of large capital ships.

The ongoing intelligence gathering operation in SKS space is proceeding slightly behind schedule due to the necessity of moving quietly and slowly to evade notice by either the Zodiac or the royal authorities. (Once again, your command, and your skillful manipulation of the opposition's sensory abilities were key).

The Triad Head sighed as he finished reading the report. Agent Asakura was a good worker, but she was such a suckup that he could hardly stand to read her missives. Perhaps he should have her transferred from the analytical division into the field position she undoubtedly desired.

Darksider wrote:

Dahak wrote:Minutes later the Fast Response Fleet appeared in the system.
"Sir, we're picking up the remains of the Demonstration of Will, but no sign of the PRC ships."
Start scanning the vicinity, and launch fighter screen. Engage possible hostiles on sight."

The Liberator arrived too late to save the AU and Stuartian ships.

"Sir, Stuartian fast response fleet reverting to realspace ad point five one two."

"Open a channel. Find out what the hell is going on."

"We are investigating the loss of one of our ships. You are free to help."

***

After hours of search without finding the Cornerian fleet, the Fleet jumped back to Aregath space.